When they first hit the scene is 1981, Duran Duran
were cool, dude. They made stylish and sexy videos, but more importantly, they
were a kickass live band with a sound all their own. All of that, of course, was
lost when the whole Fab Five hysteria set in, and the critics who hailed them
not five minutes earlier suddenly declared them to be the death of pop music as
we knew it.

Twenty five years later, they’re getting the last laugh. Reunited as a quintet
for the first time since 1985’s “A View to a Kill” (not coincidentally, their
last #1 single), Duran Duran are on a very successful US tour and enjoying some
of their best press ever. From the looks of things at their performance at
Columbus’ Veteran’s Memorial, the change of fortune has rejuvenated them
considerably.

They’re still not above exploiting their hero worship, though. With a moody
instrumental electronic track lumbering in the background, the band walks to the
front of the stage – to the thundering sound of their ever-faithful, screaming
female fan base - backlit by flickering strobe lights. They stand there, side by
side, for about a minute. It was a symbolic gesture, meaning that they know that
they were only at their best when those five were together. The set that
followed confirmed it.

In fact, the set list was full of surprises, though not at first. After opening
with a hard edged version of “Sunrise” that was far superior to the overproduced
album version, the band gave the people what they wanted in the form of “Hungry
Like The Wolf” and “Planet Earth.” Even sax player Andy Hamilton, their
unofficial sixth member back in the day, jumped in on the latter song. After
that came two more songs from new album Astronaut –
the title track and ballad “Chains” – with “Union of the Snake” sandwiched in
between, featuring another Hamilton solo. Hey, if they’re going to bring the guy
with them, they may as well keep him busy.

It was at this point that the set list got interesting. The band launched into
“Hold Back the Rain,” a Rio hallmark and fan favorite. Next came the
current single, the autobiographical “What Happens Tomorrow” (lead singer Simon
LeBon appeared to be singing the second verse of “Fighting because we’re so
close / There are times we punish those who we need the most” directly to
guitarist Andy Taylor). Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the instrumental “Tiger
Tiger.” (Again, more work for Hamilton.) It was a well executed misdirection, as
it afforded Simon the time to leave the stage and return wearing….a chauffeur’s
cap.

The best song on Rio, and arguably the band’s best song ever, “The
Chauffeur” was one of the evening’s highlights. The band clearly still loves
playing the song, too. Bassist John Taylor was bouncing slightly to drummer
Roger Taylor’s, er, driving beat. After two more ballads (“Save a Prayer” and
“Ordinary World”), the band put on a hits parade, with “Notorious,” “Is There
Something I Should Know,” “Wild Boys,” and “Careless Memories,” the last of
which was easily the highlight of the evening. There were five separate
portrait-shaped video screens above the stage, and the video they showed during
“Memories” was phenomenal. A tribute to Japanese animation, they showed each
band member taking on gangs of mask-wearing ninjas, using their instruments as
weapons. (Andy would stab guys with his guitar, while Roger would split skulls
by using his cymbals like fighting stars.) At the end, a larger-than-life Simon
destroys a building holding a meeting of the Endangered Music Industry (look at
the initials). It was priceless.

After a brief break, the band returned for two encores, “Girls on Film” and
“Rio.” During the band introductions in the former, Hamilton played the theme
from “The Simpsons,” John played a riff of “25 or 6 to 4,” while Andy played
“Back In Black.” (They also did a bit of Dee-Lite’s “Groove Is In the Heart” as
well.) Upon the completion of “Rio,” the band stood at the front of the stage
again, waving, bowing, and clearly grateful that they were given a second
chance.

The overall sound of the show was quite good, though not perfect. Roger’s drums
seemed to go in and out of the mix, sometimes within the same song. Andy was in
full hard rock mode, to the point where he sometimes drowned out keyboardist
Nick Rhodes completely. This is understandable though; Andy’s father passed away
last week, and he is likely venting some frustration. Simon was a trooper:
clearly battling a cold and blowing his nose at every opportunity, he did not
show an ounce of quit in his voice. He did have the audience sing more than
usual, though it’s unclear if that was due to technical problems or his illness.

Despite the general lack of attention Astronaut has received – which is a
shame, because the song “Nice” has hit single written all over it – Duran Duran
has to be happy with the way things are going. By all rights, after years of
drugs, infighting and an ever-changing lineup, this band should have
disintegrated the way that nearly all of their peers did. But they didn’t. They
survived, and are now reaping the benefits. Well done, lads.

Set List
Sunrise
Hungry Like The Wolf
Planet Earth
Astronaut
Union of the Snake
Chains
Hold Back the Rain
What Happens Tomorrow
A View to a Kill
Tiger Tiger
The Chauffeur
Ordinary World
Save a Prayer
Notorious
Nice
Is There Something I Should Know?
Careless Memories
Wild Boys